Sitting in his Kingston hotel room the other night, the veteran U.S. men's national soccer team player DaMarcus Beasley had a stark view of what would unfold Friday in the crucial World Cup qualifier against Jamaica.

"It's not going to be a pretty game," said Beasley, who has played nearly every position for the U.S. squad in a dozen years. "It's different players, but it's the same old mentality we need—that grinding, never-give-up attitude. We want to make it as tough as we can on the other team."

Beasley, who is 31, has a unique perspective on this six-team, regional qualifying tournament that determines which national teams will make it to Brazil next summer: it's his fourth time through the exhausting, nine-month, 10-game process.

As the stars and stripes enter what's known as the "gut of the hex"—three games in 11 days against Jamaica, Panama and Honduras that will go a long way toward deciding whether they make it to the World Cup—it's in a precarious position. Three matches in, the U.S. has four points, its lowest total at this stage since 1997 (teams get three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss). In the 2001, 2005 and 2009 qualifying tournaments, the U.S. had nine, six, and seven points, respectively, at the same point. History suggests 15 or 16 points will be enough to make it through this increasingly competitive region, which qualifies three teams. (The No. 4 finisher faces a scary playoff against New Zealand).

Despite all the chatter about the modern Teutonic attack that German-born head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has tried to instill, Beasley knows the U.S. formula for survival in a region that includes North and Central America and the Caribbean has far more to do with grit and athleticism than fancy ball movement or stylish goals.

In other words, they need to play a lot like another national soccer team that's had a fair bit of success over the years—the U.S. women. "The women's game isn't as sophisticated," said Tony DiCicco, head coach of the women's team that won the 1999 World Cup. "But in terms of an overall approach and the closeness of the team, that's something I think the men have noticed and can use."

Anson Dorrance, who coached the U.S. women's team in 1991, said the U.S., like other nations, has developed a soccer culture, for both men and women, that reflects the way the country would like to see itself. "We try to play with a combination of athleticism, optimism, and honor," Dorrance said. "We don't have divers who try to trick the referee, and we try to play with a physical courage, because we have to make up for our lack of technical and tactical sophistication."

Make no mistake: The U.S. isn't a soccer superpower. And the women's international game is a completely different animal than the men's version. The U.S. men wouldn't do themselves any favors by breaking down film of Abby Wambach & Co. in action, Dorrance said.

But to win two world championships and three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the U.S. women have leaned heavily on a few distinctly "American" advantages. Because so many girls in the U.S. grow up playing sports, the national team has been able to overcome its technical flaws with a team that has unmatched speed, strength, fitness and unity.

On their march to the 2011 World Cup final and last summer's Olympic gold medal, the U.S. women combined a more international style that emphasized passing and possession along with their outsized speed and strength, and tendency to play with a big dose of full-speed-ahead grit. In the biggest moments of those tournaments, that's what carried the day.

For the men, who have a long history of struggling to win international soccer matches south of the border, leaning on the same "American" soccer virtues the women have mastered could make all the difference. "The crowds, the field, the hostility, it's a different environment, but we have to enjoy it and keep our edge," Beasley said of the Caribbean nations where the U.S. competes. "It has to be fun to come down to these places and play."

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